NICKEL MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Glencore walks away from taxpayer-funded clean energy pivot

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 29-Oct-25

Anglo-Swiss miner Glencore has advised that it will not proceed with a proposed renewable energy and battery hub at its Murrin Murrin nickel mine and refinery in Western Australia. Glencore had received a $35m grant from the federal government’s Powering the Regions Fund to help finance the development of an 849-hectare renewables hub at Murrin Murrin, which currently operates its own gas-fired power station. A spokesman for Glencore says it decided to cancel the onsite hybrid renewable energy project due to a range of macroeconomic and cost factors. Glencore and the government have agreed to mutually terminate the grant.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC

BHP urges Labor to fix IR before issuing subsidies

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Original article by Peter Ker, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 21-Feb-24

BHP CEO Mike Henry says the resources group would be supportive of any assistance for Australia’s embattled nickel industry, such as a short-term production tax credit. However, he warns that a tax credit may not be sufficient to save the industry, given the significant challenges facing the nickel market. Henry adds that getting industrial relations policy right is more important than offering subsidies and rescue packages. BHP in particular will be impacted by the same job, same pay’ regime for labour hire workers. BHP’s wholly-owned labour hire firm, Operations Services, pays workers less than their colleagues employed on site-specific enterprise bargaining agreements. BHP’s Western Australian nickel mines are among the sites that use Operations Services workers.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OPERATIONS SERVICES

BHP hit in $5.4b nickel wipeout

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Original article by Brad Thompson, Peter Ker, Tom Rabe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 17 : 16-Feb-24

BHP’s Nickel West division has made a loss of $US200m ($308m) over the last six month, due to the sharp downturn in the price of the battery metal. BHP has advised that its half-year accounts will include a pre-tax writedown of $5.4bn in the value of the nickel business; the resources group has also warned that it could potentially place the nickel operations – which employ about 3,000 people – in ‘care and maintenance’ mode. Meanwhile, the Western Australian government may provide royalty relief to struggling nickel producers, but Premier Roger Cook says governments at all levels need to step in and assist them to ride out the "significant structural disruption" to the industry.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Lithium, nickel need bailout now

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Feb-24

Liontown Resources CEO Tony Ottaviano has called for royalty relief for lithium and nickel producers in a bid to prevent further mine closures and job losses. The Western Australian government implemented a 12-month, 50 per cent royalty break for the lithium sector in late 2020 when lithium prices last tumbled, and Ottaviano says it is time for similar royalty relief for lithium and in the collapsing nickel sector. Ottaviano said royalty relief would not impact Liontown straight away, as its Kathleen Valley lithium project in WA is still around six months away from its first production but it would be good to factor it into cash flow.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR

Nickel miners brace for job losses after Panoramic ends production

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Jan-24

About 300 workers at Panoramic Resources’ Savannah nickel mine in Western Australia are expected to lose their jobs after the company’s administrators moved to suspend production at the site. FTI Consulting was appointed to the role in mid-December, with the aim of keeping Savannah open, but the price of nickel has continued to fall. Panoramic reopened the Savannah mine in the Kimberley region in 2021, but factors such as a sharp fall in the nickel price in 2023 weighed on the company. There are fears of further job losses in Australia’s nickel sector, amid expectations of a global oversupply in 2024; Indonesia in particular intends to ramp up nickel production via Chinese investment in the sector.

CORPORATES
PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, FTI CONSULTING PTY LTD

Mincor board backs Forrest’s $760m takeover bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Apr-23

Mincor Resources’ directors have recommended that shareholders accept the $1.40-per-share takeover offer from Wyloo Metals in the absence of a rival bid. The Andrew Forrest-backed Wyloo has increased its stake in nickel producer Mincor to 23.2 per cent, enabling it to prevent any rival bidder to move to the compulsory acquisition stage. There had been speculation that Wyloo’s takeover proposal could trigger rival bids for Mincor, whose board has indicated that it has held talks with third parties regarding potential interest in a bid. However, the board says that no alternative proposal is under consideration.

CORPORATES
MINCOR RESOURCES NL – ASX MCR, WYLOO METALS PTY LTD

Nickel miner Mincor seeks better offer after Forrest bids $760m

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Original article by Peter Milne
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Mar-23

Fortescue Metals Group’s founder Andrew Forrest has launched a takeover bid for Mincor Resources via his private company, Wyloo Metals. Forrest is offering $1.40 per share, which represents a 35 per cent premium to Mincor’s closing price on Monday. The nickel miner’s shares rose 41 per cent to $1.47 on Tuesday in response to the bid. Wyloo already has a 19.9 per cent stake in Mincor, which produces nickel sulphide in Western Australia’s Goldfields region. Mincor’s board has advised shareholders to take no action regarding the offer until it has considered the bid and makes a recommendation.

CORPORATES
MINCOR RESOURCES NL – ASX MCR, WYLOO METALS PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

BHP wary as nickel takeover talks proceed

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 20-Aug-21

Nickel miner Western Areas has advised that it is holding preliminary discussions with IGO Limited regarding a potential merger. IGO is keen to expand its nickel portfolio, given that its Nova project in Western Australia is nearing the end of its mine life. Further consolidation in the sector would have implications for BHP’s Nickel West division, whose Kalgoorlie smelter is highly dependent on nickel supply from smaller producers.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, IGO LIMITED – ASX IGO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

BHP’s Tesla nickel deal a boost for carbon transition

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 25 : 23-Jul-21

BHP has struck an agreement with electric vehicle maker Tesla to supply it with nickel from its mines and refinery in Western Australia. BHP’s chief commercial officer Vandita Pant said it was delighted to sign the agreement with Tesla, and noted that demand for nickel in batteries is tipped to rise by more than 500 per cent over the next decade. The agreement with Tesla has led to further speculation that BHP plans to divest its oil and gas assets, in addition to the sale of its remaining interests in energy coal mines.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, TESLA INCORPORATED

BHP buy bolsters nickel operation

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 22-Jun-20

BHP is believed to have paid Norilsk Nickel almost $US30m for the Honeymoon Well nickel project in Western Australia. The deposit is estimated to contain about 1.2 million tonnes of nickel; the deal demonstrates BHP’s commitment to the commodity and its Nickel West business. BHP will also shortly resume underground mining at its Leinster project. The nickel price has rebounded from a low of around $US11,000 a tonne in March to nearly $US13,000 a tonne.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NORILSK NICKEL